Toady-Frogs, Lizards, Antses and Varmints Summary

The author is delighted with everything about the celestial breed of little green frogs that come in June and sing choruses. She can see them as Chinese aristocrats in humble form. A residual fear of them from old England is associated with witchcraft. Their willingness to swallow buckshot, which has been proven by friends, makes the Widow Slater fear the frogs. But the prolific large frogs provide food in the form of frog legs, for which hunters are well paid. Fred Thomkins, local constable, takes Rawlings out at night to teach her to catch frogs. They return with only two frogs and Rawlings finds skinning them embarrassing and eating them unpleasant.

Unattractive red lizards are falsely believed to be poisonous. Gray lizards live everywhere and are not afraid of people. Chameleons are friendly but detached...